Written Answers Thursday 8 December 2005

Scottish Executive

Agriculture

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many farmers will receive the single farm payment during (a) November 2005, (b) 1 to 15 December 2005, (c) 16 to 31 December 2005, (d) January 2006 and (e) after 31 January 2006.

Ross Finnie: Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Development Department will commence payments in December. As at 1 December, my officials estimate that around 11,000 producers (51%) will receive payment by 21 December. This is in line with our published target.

  Payments cannot be made until all scheme eligibility checks have been completed. However, on present rates of progress my officials estimate that some 16,500 producers (70%) will have been paid by 31 December and around 19,750 producers (90%) by 31 January. The remaining producers with valid claims will be paid as soon as possible thereafter.

Air Services

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) has received any representations from the US Government or agencies acting on its behalf in respect of planes seeking to use HIAL facilities for transit purposes.

Tavish Scott: Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (HIAL) works with the US Air Force regarding the use of facilities at Campbeltown for military training purposes. The company has, however, received no representations from the US Government or agencies regarding the use of its facilities for transit purposes.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what role it has in the planning of dawn raids to remove asylum seekers and what role other Scottish agencies have.

Robert Brown: The Scottish Executive has no role in planning removals of failed asylum seeker families. Local agencies will be involved as appropriate, on a case-by-case basis.

Asylum Seekers

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will make representations to the Home Office seeking an end to dawn raids to remove asylum seekers.

Robert Brown: Positive discussions with the Home Office to reach agreement on the detail of handling removals of failed asylum seeker families are on-going and it would be wrong to comment on the content at this stage. Once agreement is reached, ministers will report back to Parliament.

Child Protection

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has for the promotion and monitoring of the law on physical punishment of children.

Cathy Jamieson: The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 clarified the law on the physical punishment of children. A leaflet about the new legislation was distributed widely to parents and staff working with children and families.

  We recognise the importance of monitoring the impact of the legislation on public attitudes and parental behaviour and will consider this further in deciding future research programmes.

Concessionary Travel

Dennis Canavan (Falkirk West) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to its Partnership Agreement commitment, when it expects to introduce a national concessionary travel scheme for young people.

Tavish Scott: The Partnership Agreement commits the Executive to introduce a scheme of national bus, rail and ferry concessionary travel for young people. We will announce the details shortly.

Disclosure Scotland

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many applications have been processed by Disclosure Scotland in each year since its inception.

Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland began processing applications in April 2002. It has processed the following number of applications in each financial year since.

  

 Financial Year
 Number of Applications Received
 Number of Applications Sent


 2002-03
 141,548
 135,558


 2003-04
 395,738
 320,780


 2004-05
 374,697
 446,593


 Total
 911, 983
 902,931

Disclosure Scotland

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to it has been of processing all applications to Disclosure Scotland in each year since its inception.

Cathy Jamieson: Disclosure Scotland is financed by the share of income Scottish ministers receive from the sale of certificates and through additional support from ministers as necessary. Disclosure Scotland began operations in April 2002, and the income from the sale of certificates and support from ministers is set out below. The support from ministers includes expenditure to cover the cost of free checks for volunteers working in the voluntary sector with children and vulnerable adults in Scotland

  

 Year
Gross Support from Ministers
 Scottish Ministers Income from Certificates
Net Support from Ministers


 2002-03 
£3,554,080
£802,000
£2,752,080


 2003-04
£3,647,918
£1,779,662
£1,868,256


 2004-05
£5,136,463 
£2,004,007
£3,132,456


 2005-06 (projected)
£3,615,000
£2,106,000
£1,509,000

Disclosure Scotland

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost to (a) individuals and (b) organisations has been of applying for registration to Disclosure Scotland in each year since its inception.

Cathy Jamieson: Since Disclosure Scotland began in April 2002 the cost of a disclosure application has been £13.60. Responsibility for paying this fee rests with the applicant although some employers reimburse them. Applications for standard and enhanced disclosures must be counter signed by a Registered Body, usually the employer. There is a one-off fee of £150 to be paid on registration and a further £10 fee for every person registered as a counter signatory. The Scottish Executive covers the cost of applications from volunteers working with children and vulnerable adults in the voluntary sector as well as funding the Central Registered Body for Scotland which is the registered body for voluntary sector checks.

Domestic Abuse

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) men and (b) women have been prosecuted for domestic violence in each year since 1997, broken down by police force area.

Colin Boyd QC: There is no statutory or common law offence of domestic violence but the term is commonly understood to refer to offences such as assault or breach of the peace. In November 2004, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) agreed with the Association of Chief Police Officers (Scotland) (ACPOS) a joint protocol outlining the procedures and practices to be followed in dealing with cases of domestic abuse. The protocol defines domestic abuse as:

  "Any form of physical, sexual or mental and emotional abuse which might amount to criminal conduct and which takes place within the context of a close relationship. The relationship will be between partners (married, cohabiting or otherwise) or ex-partners. The abuse can be committed in the home or elsewhere.

  While available evidence suggests that the most prevalent instances of domestic abuse are male violence towards women, this definition acknowledges and includes female violence towards men and violence between partners or ex-partners in close, same-sex relationships."

  The Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service within COPFS works to help ensure that victims of crime in cases involving domestic abuse receive the information and support they need. The following table shows the number of summary cases involving domestic abuse that were referred to VIA in each police force area in 2004-05. Comprehensive information relating to earlier periods is not available.

  Domestic Abuse Cases referred to VIA: Summary Cases: 2004-05

  

 Police Force Area
 No. of Cases


 Central Scotland Police
 260


 Dumfries and Galloway Police
 206


 Fife Constabulary
 460


 Grampian Police
 465


 Lothian and Borders Police
 983


 Northern Constabulary
 303


 Strathclyde Police
 5352


 Tayside Police
 662


 Total
 8691



  Information in relation to cases dealt with under solemn procedure is only available for the period since July 2005. The available information is set out in the following table.

  Domestic Abuse Cases referred to VIA: Petition Cases: July to September 2005

  

 Police Force Area
 No. of Cases


 Central Scotland Police
 7


 Dumfries and Galloway Police
 4


 Fife Constabulary
 12


 Grampian Police
 4


 Lothian and Borders Police
 8


 Northern Constabulary
 0


 Strathclyde Police
 55


 Tayside Police
 14


 Total
 104



  It is not possible to separately identify cases where the accused was male or female.

Education

Mr Adam Ingram (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will introduce any new initiatives to promote Scottish history and culture within the school curriculum.

Peter Peacock: We are reviewing the curriculum. We want every young person to know and understand the world and Scotland’s place in it. Scottish history and culture is obviously an important element within this framework.

Education

Donald Gorrie (Central Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to improve the facilities for music tuition, practice and rehearsal at the Music School of Douglas Academy.

Peter Peacock: The Executive is providing East Dunbartonshire Council with funding of £715,000 this year towards the costs of the Music School at Douglas Academy. This represents a 35% increase over last year’s grant. It is entirely for the council to decide how to deploy these funds, for the benefit of the school.

Education

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-21201 by Robert Brown on 1 December 2005, why it has no current plans to introduce the Bookstart Plus scheme for toddlers or the Bookstart Treasure Chest for children aged between 36 and 48 months.

Robert Brown: Current funding for Bookstart Scotland is met from a managed reprioritisation of resources within the Education and Young People portfolio as a whole. Decisions on future funding levels still have to be determined.

Employment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of 16 to 19-year-olds have not been in education, training or employment in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area in each year since 1996.

Nicol Stephen: The official source for data for 16 to 19-year-olds not in education, training or employment (NEET) is the Labour Force Survey. Data on those who are NEET is not available at a Local Authority level from the LFS prior to 2003. Data for 2003 and 2004 is shown in the table 1:

  Table 1 Proportion of 16 to 19-Year-Olds Not in Employment, Education or Training, West Dunbartonshire and East Dunbartonshire, 2003-04.

  

 
 2003
 2004


 West Dunbartonshire
 16.6%
 17.7%


 East Dunbartonshire
 8.5%
 9.8%



  Source: Annual Scottish Labour Force Survey.

Employment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to increase the employment rates of disadvantaged groups, such as lone parents and ethnic minorities, in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Allan Wilson: I refer the member to the answers to questions S2W-20976 on 2 December 2005 and S2W-21008 answered on 8 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Employment

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the proportion of unemployed working age people in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Allan Wilson: Information about current activity was given in the answer to question S2W-20976 on 2 December 2005. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

  In addition, the Department for Work and Pensions’ Pathways to Work programme, which aims to help those on Incapacity Benefit into jobs, will be extended to West and East Dunbartonshire from April 2006.

  A priority of the Executive’s Community Regeneration Fund is to help people back into work. £13,368,000 from the Fund has been allocated to West Dunbartonshire and £828,000 to East Dunbartonshire. The Executive is also investing £7 million in Clydebank Rebuilt Urban Regeneration Company to help bring about the economic, social and physical renewal of Clydebank.

  West Dunbartonshire is one of seven local authority areas targeted under the Executive’s Closing the Opportunity Gap for reducing the numbers of people claiming work-related benefits by 2010. This will be supported by the Executive’s Employability Framework, which we are developing and plan to launch early in 2006.

Enterprise

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many large companies have their corporate headquarters in Scotland, broken down by sector, expressed also per head of population, and what information it has on how this position compares with the United States of America, France, Germany and the rest of the United Kingdom.

Nicol Stephen: It is not possible to answer this question from the data held centrally. The Executive’s firm-level database (Inter-Departmental Business Register) contains data on employment and turnover for all enterprises (including large companies) located in Scotland, but does not record systematically the function of the enterprise at each specific location i.e. whether it is a corporate headquarter, sales, marketing, purchasing office or a production unit.

  We do not hold or are not aware of comparable data for the United States of America, France, Germany or the rest of the United Kingdom.

Environment

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive what incentives are available to businesses to help them reduce their carbon emissions and to encourage good environmental practice.

Ross Finnie: The Executive supports a number of initiatives to help business reduce carbon emissions and encourage good environmental practice. For example, we directly fund the Carbon Trust in Scotland to deliver energy efficiency programmes including free on-site energy consultancy to business. We also fund "Loan Action Scotland" managed by the Wise Group to provide interest-free loans to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to fund capital investment in energy efficiency technologies. Finally the Executive also directly funds the UK Envirowise programme, which provides advice to business on waste minimisation.

Environment

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what sections of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 give local authorities powers to serve notice requiring the occupiers of land to control injurious weeds that are adversely affecting other land.

Ross Finnie: Local authorities have powers under Section 179 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to serve notice requiring occupiers to take steps to rectify the condition of land that is adversely affecting the amenity of the surrounding area. This could include taking control of injurious weeds that are threatening neighbouring land.

Health

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20516 by Mr Andy Kerr on 18 November 2005, whether it will provide a minute, transcript and any further documentation relating to the conference held on 3 October 2005.

Mr Andy Kerr: There was no minute or transcript taken at the Conference held on 3 October. Information included in the conference pack issued to delegates at the Conference can be obtained from the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38326).

Hepatitis

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the rate of (a) hepatitis A, (b) hepatitis B and (c) non-A, non-B hepatitis reported in the prison system was in each year from 1965 to 1992.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  This information is not available.

Ministerial Meetings

Margo MacDonald (Lothians) (Ind): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a breakdown of the joint ministerial (a) committee and (b) sub-committee meetings held since May 2004, including attendees.

Ms Margaret Curran: There have been no meetings of the Joint Ministerial Committee since 1 May 2004.

  The following table provides a complete list of Scottish Executive ministerial attendance at all Joint Ministerial Sub-Committee meetings that have taken place since 1 May 2004.

  

 Subject
 Date
 Venue
 Scottish Minister


 Europe
 27 May 2004
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Services


 Europe
 23 June 2004
 London
 No Executive Minister was able to participate


 Europe
 20 July 2004
 London
 No Executive Minister was able to participate


 Europe
 14 September 2004
 London
 Minister for Health and Community Care


 Europe
 20 October 2004
 London
 Minister for Parliamentary Business


 Europe
 29 November 2004
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform 


 Europe
 24 January 2005
 London
 Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning


 Europe
 15 March 2005
 London
 Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform


 Europe
 25 May 2005
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform


 Europe
 14 June 2005
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform


 Europe
 14 September 2005
 London
 Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform


 Europe
 11 October 2005
 London
 Deputy Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning


 Europe
 14 November 2005
 London
 Deputy Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform

Mortality

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) children and (b) adults died of pneumococcal meningitis in each of the last 10 years.

George Lyon: The information requested is given in the following table.

  Deaths in Scotland from Pneumococcal Meningitis1

  

 
 1995
 1996
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004


 (a) children (under 16)
 1
 2
 0
 1
 1
 1
 2
 1
 0
 0


 (b) adults (16 and over)
 3
 8
 5
 2
 5
 5
 2
 2
 4
 6



  Note: 1. 1995-99, ICD9 code 3201; 2000-04, ICD10 code G001.

NHS Boards

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce its decision on the boundaries of the neighbouring boards to NHS Argyll and Clyde when it is dissolved at the end of March 2006.

Mr Andy Kerr: I announced on 19 May the Executive’s decision to dissolve NHS Argyll and Clyde and consult on the boundaries of the boards – namely, NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Highland – that will assume responsibility for the planning and provision of healthcare services in the area.

  The matter of the boundaries of the successor boards has been subject to formal public consultation which was launched on 8 August and ran until 11 November.

  I have carefully considered all representations and the results of the consultation and concluded that the healthcare interests of patients and local people would be best served by adopting option one; that is: incorporating the Argyll and Bute council area within NHS Highland, and the rest of the Argyll and Clyde area within NHS Greater Glasgow.

  I genuinely believe that by redrawing the boundaries of NHS Greater Glasgow and NHS Highland in this way we will have a basis for the more rational and effective planning and provision of services; an opportunity to better reflect and respond to patient flows; the chance to reduce overheads by sharing services, and, in line with Delivering for Health, a real opportunity to explore all options for providing high quality, safe and sustainable healthcare services as close to people’s homes as possible.

  This decision was the subject of an Executive debate at 14:55 on the afternoon of 8 December 2005 in the Parliament.

Osteoporosis

Margaret Jamieson (Kilmarnock and Loudoun) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to ensure full compliance with NHS Quality Improvement Scotland’s (QIS) report, Effectiveness of Strategies for the Secondary Prevention of Osteoporotic Fractures in Scotland .

Lewis Macdonald: This report of an audit of current osteoporosis services, which was funded by QIS, represents the views of its authors. Its recommendations will be a useful tool for NHS boards in the planning and delivery of osteoporosis services in Scotland.

Police

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many assaults there have been on (a) police officers and (b) probation officers in each year since 1995, broken down by police force area.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is shown in the following table. In Scotland, the equivalent of probation officers are criminal justice social workers, who are employed by individual local authorities. There are no statistics held centrally about attacks on these employees.

  Number of Assault on Police Officers by Police Force Area, 1995-96 to 2004-05

  

 
 Central
 Dumfries and Galloway
 Fife
 Grampian
 Lothian and Borders
 Northern
 Strathclyde
 Tayside
 Scotland


 1995-96
 262
 174
 233
 485
 373
 188
 8,035
 322
 10,072


 1996-97
 204
 112
 233
 Unknown
 191
 190
 8,892
 330
 -


 1997-98
 241
 86
 257
 259
 172
 202
 8,609
 329
 10,155


 1998-99
 234
 47
 55
 172
 264
 194
 8,970
 17
 9,953


 1999-2000
 267
 14
 164
 68
 304
 215
 8,713
 276
 10,021


 2000-01
 262
 11
 221
 279
 299
 223
 6,670
 270
 8,235


 2001-02
 404
 111
 56
 76
 313
 236
 7,045
 14
 8,255


 2002-03
 407
 176
 381
 238
 269
 249
 7,506
 117
 9,343


 2003-04
 873
 448
 58
 316
 41
 52
 Unknown
 153
 -


 2004-05
 934
 398
 356
 Unknown
 205
 284
 Unknown
 168
 -



  Source: Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary’s Annual Statistical Returns from police forces.

  Unknown: not known or no data supplied.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S2W-18233 and S2W-18632 by Cathy Jamieson on 2 and 15 September 2005, whether householders are entitled to view the photographic images that are collected during surveillance of their properties and, in particular, those that are forwarded to the procurator fiscal.

Cathy Jamieson: A person may request to see the images that are obtained as a result of surveillance, they do not however, have any legal right to be granted access to it. This includes cases that are forwarded to the Procurator Fiscal.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18632 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 September 2005, whether there is any route of appeal open to residents of a private, occupied dwelling where a video camera has been installed in respect of a subsequent refusal to release images.

Cathy Jamieson: In the event that an individual is refused access to images obtained from surveillance, they may appeal to the Chief Constable of the police force concerned. It is also open to the person to contact the Investigatory Powers Tribunal.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the guidelines and standards are for the use of police surveillance equipment within private dwelling houses.

Cathy Jamieson: The use of surveillance equipment is strictly monitored and Codes of Practice exist to be used by those who carry out surveillance.

  An authorisation must be obtained from a Surveillance Commissioner when surveillance equipment is to be used by police within private dwelling houses. The Office of Surveillance Commissioners also provide guidelines of what is required for an authorisation to be granted.

Police

Linda Fabiani (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-18632 by Cathy Jamieson on 15 September 2005, whether there is a recommended length of time for 24-hour video surveillance to continue in a private, occupied dwelling where the equipment has been installed at the request of the police and whether the psychological well-being of the residents is taken into account.

Cathy Jamieson: The length of time for which surveillance continues is an operational matter for those conducting it. This is considered on a case by case basis. There are, however, mechanisms in place to ensure that surveillance is not carried out over and above what is necessary and proportionate.

  In all circumstances where surveillance is carried out, the rights of the individuals concerned are considered and all efforts are made to minimise any inconvenience to them. It is the responsibility of Chief Constables to ensure that all surveillance operations are reviewed to ensure that they remain proportionate and necessary.

Public Transport

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware that Lothian Buses student ridacards exclude thousands of mature students as they are only available to students aged between 16 and 25; what its policy position is in this respect; what representations it has received to extend the scheme to all students regardless of age, and whether there is any region where such exclusion is not practised.

Tavish Scott: The Scottish Executive is aware of the campaign currently being run by Edinburgh University Students Association and has received a number of related letters and pre-printed postcards. The Executive provides help with travel costs for mature students under further and higher education funding. Beyond that, student discounts for travel are commercial decisions made by travel operators at their discretion and information on such schemes is held by the operators concerned and not the Executive.

Public Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made in respect of Fife Council Partnership’s application for a Bus Route Development Grant for the Inverkeithing to Edinburgh Airport route.

Tavish Scott: Further to consideration of a revised Bus Route Development Grant proposal for the Inverkeithing to Edinburgh Airport service, I announced on 29 November that this proposal would be funded.

Public Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made in respect of Fife Council Partnership’s application for a Bus Route Development Grant for the St Andrews to Dundee route.

Tavish Scott: Further to consideration of a revised Bus Route Development Grant proposal for the St Andrews to Dundee service, I announced on 29 November that this proposal would be funded.

Public Transport

Bruce Crawford (Mid Scotland and Fife) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when an announcement will be made in respect of Fife Council Partnership’s application for a Bus Route Development Grant for the Dunfermline to High Valleyfield route.

Tavish Scott: Further to consideration of a revised Bus Route Development Grant proposal for the Dunfermline to High Valleyfield service, I announced on 29 November that this proposal would be funded.

Public Transport

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any financial contribution that it makes towards the Edinburgh Tramlines One and Two will be linked to inflation.

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what it estimates the total cost will be of the proposed Edinburgh Tramlines One and Two.

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial contribution it intends to make towards the Edinburgh Tramlines One and Two.

Tavish Scott: The promoter’s current estimated cost for Edinburgh Tramlines One and Two, allowing for inflation is £634 million. The Scottish Executive has offered £375 million towards this total on receipt of a robust business case from the promoter. The Executive is currently considering whether to index link the £375 million.

Public Transport

Scott Barrie (Dunfermline West) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to ensure direct public transport links between Fife and destinations other than Edinburgh, in light of the Forth Estuary Transport Authority’s intention to introduce a peak time premium charge for crossing the Forth Road Bridge.

Tavish Scott: The Transport (Scotland) Act 2005 requires the South-East of Scotland Transport Partnership to draw up a strategy for transport within its region. That transport strategy should include provision for meeting the needs of all inhabited places and meeting the need for efficient transport links between heavily populated places. The Scottish Executive has committed £35 million of funding for 2006-07 and 2007-08 to the new statutory regional transport partnerships towards implementation of their strategies.

Public Transport

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has set aside for the Edinburgh tram lines schemes in (a) 2005-06, (b) 2006-07, (c) 2007-08 and (d) any subsequent years.

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how much it has contributed towards the Edinburgh tram lines schemes to date.

Tavish Scott: £16.3 million has been spent to date on the Edinburgh Tram Network. The Scottish Executive has set aside £23.2 million in 2005-06 for 2005-06. Funding in future years depends on an acceptable Interim Outline Business Case.

Public Transport

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has considered the use of an FTR StreetCar scheme as a feasible alternative to fixed tram lines.

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what savings it estimates could be achieved through the adoption of an FTR StreetCar scheme, rather than a fixed line tram scheme, in Edinburgh.

Tavish Scott: Consideration of alternative tram technologies has been undertaken at length, both by the promoter in the various reports completed to date on Edinburgh’s future transport requirements and as part of the required STAG appraisal processes for both Edinburgh Tramlines One and Two in 2004.

Rail Network

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what costs will accrue from the changed status of Strathclyde Passenger Transport.

Tavish Scott: Following the coming into force of the Transfer of Rail Functions To The Scottish Ministers Order 2005 on 28 November 2005 a number of staff have transferred from Strathclyde Passenger Transport Executive to the Scottish Executive.

  There is likely to be some cost to the Scottish Executive arising out of the reconciliation of accrued pension values on transfer between funds to ensure staff are not disadvantaged. This is an on-going process. There are other minor costs associated with provision of equipment and the induction of the transferred staff into the Scottish Executive.

Rail Network

Mr David Davidson (North East Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs will be of rebadging Strathclyde Passenger Transport (a) rolling stock, (b) stations, (c) uniforms, (d) timetables, (e) notices, (f) tickets, (g) signage and (h) premises and which organisation will meet such costs.

Tavish Scott: We are not planning to incur any additional costs above existing First ScotRail franchise budgets in any change to SPT branding on rail.

Rendition Flights

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been notified that flights carrying US prisoners to countries where they might be subjected to torture are landing at Scottish airports for refuelling and, if so, when.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is aware of the allegations that have been made on this issue. However, the Executive has not been notified that flights carrying US prisoners to countries where they might be subjected to torture are landing at Scottish airports.

Rendition Flights

Mr Jim Wallace (Orkney) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether any public authority or body for which it has responsibility has received any information in respect of the transit through Scotland of planes carrying persons being deported or involuntarily transferred to a foreign country.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive is aware of the allegations that have been made in the media in recent months regarding rendition flights. However, neither the Executive nor any public authority or body for which it has responsibility has received any other information to show that planes carrying persons being deported or involuntarily transferred to a foreign country have passed through Scotland.

Rendition Flights

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has been asked to supply any details or information to either the UK Government or the Secretary General of the Council of Europe in respect of any potential breach of the European Convention on Human Rights in relation to rendition flights through Scottish airports.

Cathy Jamieson: The Scottish Executive has not been asked to supply any information in relation to rendition flights to either the UK Government or the Council of Europe.

Rendition Flights

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to Her Majesty’s Government in respect of the use of rendition flights by foreign agencies, in particular the CIA, through Scottish airports, given reports that prisoners may be being transported to torture and detention camps and the potential impact of this on applications under the Fresh Talent initiative, the tourist industry and the wider reputation of Scotland.

Cathy Jamieson: I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-20910 on 7 December 2005. All answers to written questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search .

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the responses it received indicating (a) support for and (b) objections to the Lewis Windpower Ltd (AMEC/British Energy) wind farm proposal before Comhairle nan Eilean Siar reached a view on the project were from Western Isles residents.

Allan Wilson: Prior to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar submitting its consultation response the Executive recorded six responses in support and 2,713 objections to the Lewis Windpower proposal from Western Isles residents.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many responses it has received indicating (a) support for and (b) objections to the Lewis Windpower Ltd (AMEC/British Energy) wind farm proposal since Comhairle nan Eilean Siar reached a view on whether to support the project.

Allan Wilson: Since Comhaitrle nan Eilean Siar submitted its consultation response, the Executive has recorded 13 responses in support and 1,903 objections to the Lewis Windpower proposal.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how many of the responses it has received indicating (a) support for and (b) objections to the Lewis Windpower Ltd (AMEC/British Energy) wind farm proposal since Comhairle nan Eilean Siar reached a view on the project have been from Western Isles residents.

Allan Wilson: Since Western Isles Council submitted their consultation response, the Executive has recorded 11 responses of support and 1,860 objections to the Lewis Windpower proposal, from Western Isles residents.

Renewable Energy

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive how its Enterprise and Lifelong Learning Department will categorise or consider all responses made to it on the Lewis Windpower Ltd (AMEC/British Energy) wind farm proposal.

Allan Wilson: All representations received prior to Western Isles Council submitting their consultation response (30 June 2005), will be considered by Scottish ministers as part of the consent determination. Those representations received after that date cannot be considered within the consenting process, but will nevertheless be treated as a material consideration.

Roads

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce proposals for the improvement of the Bankfoot junction on the A9.

Tavish Scott: As promised, I wrote to you on 30 November 2005 confirming that the preferred option at Bankfoot is to construct a junction improvement and climbing lane which will accommodate upgrading this section of road to dual carriageway in future years should that be necessary.

  It is expected that orders for this scheme will be published towards the end of 2006 with a view to starting construction works in spring 2007 subject to statutory and land acquisition procedures.

Roads

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on maintaining trunk roads in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: Financial data on trunk road maintenance is not gathered or held on a local authority basis. This information is held by Operating Company Unit and is reported annually in Scottish Transport Statistics . The most recent data is shown in table 11.2 of issue No. 24, 2005 edition, a copy of which is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 37306).

Roads

Brian Adam (Aberdeen North) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much has been spent on upgrading and improving trunk roads in each local authority area in each of the last five years.

Tavish Scott: The information requested on upgrading and improving trunk roads is not held centrally on a local authority by local authority basis.

Roads

Ms Rosemary Byrne (South of Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-19877 by Tavish Scott on 10 November 2005, when the front page of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route website will be updated.

Tavish Scott: The website was updated on 7 November 2005 to clarify that the route corridor as shown was indicative only and did not represent the preferred route. Following the announcement of the preferred route on 1 December, a comprehensive upgrade to the website is underway.

Roads

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what the current timetable is for construction of the A96 Fochabers to Mosstodloch bypass.

Tavish Scott: The A96 Fochabers and Mosstodloch bypass scheme is currently subject to two appeals in the Court of Session and it is therefore not possible to say when construction might commence.

  However, should the court rule in the Executive’s favour, construction could start after about 12 months and would take in the region of 18 months to complete.

Roads

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is considering the construction of an Elgin bypass in its future road construction plans.

Tavish Scott: We have no current plans to construct an Elgin Bypass. However, we are working closely with the Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership (HITRANS) and the North East Scotland Transport Partnership (NESTRANS) in a multi-modal corridor study to identify the future transport needs of the A96 corridor. The Executive is committed to commencing a Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR) during 2006. This will provide an opportunity for the whole transport network in Scotland, including the A96.

Roads

Mr Jamie Stone (Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will announce the outcome of the tender competitions for trunk road maintenance in the north west and south west of Scotland.

Tavish Scott: My officials have written today to each of the four tenderers involved in these competitions indicating the intention to award the contract for the North West Unit to Scotland TranServ (a joint venture between Balfour Beatty and Mouchell Parkman) and the one for the South West to Amey Infrastructure Services Limited. In each case their proposals have been rigorously scrutinised to ensure the resources and capabilities will be provided to meet the high specification for maintaining trunk roads. The competitions have secured improved value over the existing contracts. The new contracts will start to deliver services on the trunk roads on 1 April 2006.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide more information on the comments made by the Deputy First Minister and Minister for Enterprise and Lifelong Learning to the Enterprise and Culture Committee on 1 November 2005 in relation to the impact of the HM Treasury discount rate for student loans ( Official Report c. 2352).

Nicol Stephen: The Treasury discount rate is used for two related purposes in financial reports: valuing the liabilities, and computing the interest costs on the stock of liabilities.

  When there is a change to the discount rate, there is a related change to the Student Loans Subsidy rate. In 2005-06, the Treasury Discount rate changed from 3.5% to 2.2% in accordance with PES Paper PES (2004) 04 – Guidance On Managing The Change In The Discount Rate For Pensions and Other Long-Term Liabilities. This paper can be found at the following link:

  http://www.hm-treasury.gsi.gov.uk/psd/pes_papers/pespaper/pespaper_2004/pes0404.htm.

  For 2006-07 and 2007-08 the impact is estimated at £32 million. This change creates a reduction of approximately £28 million in budget provision in 2005-06.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will explain why the funding for the Student Awards Agency for Scotland is shown as being reduced in each of the next two years in its Draft Budget 2005-06 while it has a standing commitment to fully fund the tuition fees increases it announced in the summer which might have been expected to inflate that budget line.

Nicol Stephen: The figures being referred to are total figures incorporating each of the constituent elements of the Departmental Expenditure Limit budget of SAAS, and not only that of tuition fees. The reduction is due to a decrease in the Student Loan Subsidy Rate as a consequence of the reduced cost of capital and increase in the minimum loan payment threshold from £10,000 to £15,000.

  Further breakdown of the Departmental Expenditure Limit budget is shown in table 6.03 of the Draft Budget 2006-07, which can be found at the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/Doc/69582/0017144.pdf.

  The tuition fees figures in table 6.03 do not yet show the transfer of tuition fees due from the Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council to SAAS because the details are still being finalised. This transfer is estimated to be in the region of £45 million and is likely to take place some time in 2006-07. When it is completed, the tuition budget and therefore SAAS’s overall funding budget will be appropriately increased, although these adjustments will produce an overall net effect of zero to the Enterprise, Transport and Lifelong Learning Department and the Scottish Executive’s budget.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20429 by Allan Wilson on 16 November 2005, how it forecasts the average length of time for repayment of a student loan.

Allan Wilson: The average length of time for repayment for an income-contingent student loan is forecast using a student loan repayment model. This generates an expected repayment profile and reports repayment behaviour for a representative student set.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20429 by Allan Wilson on 16 November 2005, what the average length of time to repay was for student loan borrowers who completed repayment in each of the last two years.

Nicol Stephen: For borrowers fully repaying their student loans in calendar year 2003 the average repayment time was 4.9 years.

  For borrowers fully repaying their student loans in calendar year 2004 the average repayment time was 5.1 years.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20429 by Allan Wilson on 16 November 2005, when it expects all student loans referred to in the answer to be repaid and when it will therefore be in a position to provide a substantive answer.

Nicol Stephen: It is not possible to give a definitive answer on when all student loans taken out since the introduction of student loans are expected to be repaid.

  The nature of student loan repayments means that the majority of borrowers will be at different stages of repayment or deferment at any one time and that borrowers will repay over different periods of time depending on their salary and changing circumstances.

Student Finance

Fiona Hyslop (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-20434 by Allan Wilson on 16 November 2005, why it did not provide information for the years prior to 1998.

Nicol Stephen: The Student Loans Company implemented a new customer account administration system in September 1998. The previous system could not allow transactions to be analysed by domicile.

Traffic

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the volume of traffic is per day on the A80 and what the comparable figures were for (a) 1995, (b) 1985 and (c) 1975.

Tavish Scott: The earliest traffic data held in the Scottish Roads Traffic Database for the A80 is for 1987.

  The current annual average daily flow for the A80 in 2005 is 66,083. In 1995 and 1987 the figures were 59,541 and 44,312 respectively.

Waste Management

Shiona Baird (North East Scotland) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive when the consultation on the proposed waste minimisation programme will be launched.

Ross Finnie: We will publish shortly a consultation on household waste prevention.

Young People

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what action is being taken to reduce the number of 16 to 19-year-olds who are not in education, training or employment in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area.

Allan Wilson: A wide range of mainstream and targeted policies spanning early years, education, children’s services, regeneration, enterprise and lifelong learning are contributing to reducing the size of the not in education, employment or training (NEET) group in West Dunbartonshire and East Dunbartonshire.

  Careers Scotland (CS) deliver targeted advice and support to help prevent young people from becoming NEET and support young people NEET to progress towards the labour market. In West and East Dunbartonshire, enhanced CS resource is available in six secondary schools with the aim of improving school leaver destinations. Activate, an early intervention programme for pupils who may face difficulties in moving into work, runs in 10 schools and has achieved a positive outcome rate of 91% with the first 202 pupils participating. Young people facing significant barriers to entering the labour market can access one to one support from the CS key workers who operate in West and East Dunbartonshire.

Youth Crime

Des McNulty (Clydebank and Milngavie) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what policies to tackle youth crime in the (a) West Dunbartonshire and (b) East Dunbartonshire local authority area it (i) has implemented and (ii) is planning to implement and what associated investment is needed to implement such policies.

Cathy Jamieson: It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to ensure the delivery of a range of programmes to tackle and reduce offending amongst young people. Information on the services being delivered in East and West Dunbartonshire can be found on Scotland’s youth justice website at www.youthjusticescotland.gov.uk . Details of the funding being made available to support these services can be found in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 38237). In addition to this funding, the following GAE resources have been identified to support the delivery of core youth justice services:

  

 
 East Dunbartonshire
 West Dunbartonshire


 2005-06
£394,000
£834,000


 2006-07
£405,000
£856,000


 2007-08
£407,000
£862,000



  Both East and West Dunbartonshire are participating in phase one implementation of Intensive Support and Monitoring Services. The Executive is providing dedicated funding to the sum of £752,252 this year and next to support this intervention.